1. Field of the Invention
The invention is in the field of inflatable structures and is specifically directed to an inflatable hangar for large equipment, such as an airship or other aircraft.
2. Description of the Related Art
Inflatable structures are disclosed, for example, in GB 1,046,632 (“Lobelle”); U.S. Pat. No. 2,850,026 (“Leatherman”); U.S. Pat. No. 3,307,301 (“Jacobsohn”); EP 0199592 (“Plant”); and U.S. Pat. No. 2,921,592 (“Mackey”), which are incorporated by reference for their teaching of materials and techniques known in the art of inflatable structures. Large, lightweight structures with support trusses are described in US 2007/0215752 (“Steinkerchner”); U.S. Pat. No. 7,013,607 (“South”); and U.S. Pat. No. 2,636,457 (“Finlay”), which are also incorporated by reference. The prior art identifies certain problems associated with erecting and collapsing large lightweight structures for housing very large equipment, and in particular the problem of opening and closing the structures to allow for entry and egress of the equipment has not been adequately addressed. Thus it would be a desirable advance in the art to provide an inflatable structure that could accommodate the entry and exit of large equipment and provide for rapid re-inflation afterward.